Furniture construction



Jan. 1, 1929. 1,697,298

T. H. WITTLIFF FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug.'l0, 1925 INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS Patented Jan. 1, 1929.

THEODORE H. WITTLIFF, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

FURNITURE oonsrnuorroir,

Original application filed Apri123, 1&25,

This invention relates to furniture construction, and is a division of my application, Serial, No. 25,343, filed April '23, 1925, for furniture construction Case 1)., More particularly it comprises means for securing the side and corner members of an article of furniture to, each other without the use of glue or h s a corn lock and 0their as ni elements. The device is. also. adapted to use as a reinforcing means for articles of furniture, having its members secured in the usual manner, but omitting the corner blocks.

hai s, e et eds, an o e ar ic e o niture of similar character, when the frame .members thereof are secured by means of glue, are frequently found to become loosened and to develop a considerable, degree of lost motion which causes such furniture to squeak as well as to give to the user thereof an uncomfortable sense of inSeourity. a

The present 'nvention provides means of as eni g t r tur el me f ch ar icles of furniture to. each otherin an improved manner so that any lost motion between the time, results in greater economy of construction and a more rigid connection between the several portions of the frame that can other- W se be bta n d- T he annexed drawing and thefollowing description set forth in detail certain mecha nism embodying the invention, such disclosed however,

means constituti g, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle 7 of the invention may be used,

In said annexed drawing 2- Fig. 1 is a bott in plan v ew of a chair cont u ion h e rdan e th he n enti n;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing enlarged letail one of the corner Plates emp y d in the ee et 'u t n; F 3 s a larged detail plan view showing one form of tensioning element employed; Fig. i is a side elevation partially in section of said tensioning element; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail plan ew Qt a th t m teheio, i s devie and Fig. 6 is a side. elevation othe device shewh i F g- As is shown in f eeh y and rig d ty f eenstmi ien here ah ee err r. e ar e h tl hy sihe"; in

parts may be taken up, and which, at the same the drawing the advantages Serial No. 25 343. Divided and this application filed August 10, 1935.. Serial No. 49 25 place of the usual corner blocks employed in various articles of furniture, a sheet metal plate 1 having an angular central portion '2 adapted to fit over the inner edge of the cornor post 3 of an article of furniture, and havmg adiaeent i s upper p t on lateralwing xt si ns. 4 d. at r g a gl s her t adap e to. be firm y ecur d to h si e h m members 6 of. the a t c e fu niture. At t pper g elf of he la ral wings, an integnal extension 7 provided, said extension p ei ting inwa dly at ight gles to. its adja ent ins 5 a d eingeel i o suppo the seat or top portions 'ofthe article of furn ture d Screw or oth f t n g devices 9 ar u to secure the wings and extensions to the ada en f ame mber -i Other s r ws r a tening devices ll are se into. the, corner post th ough hol ormed at sp c inte val i th espec v s es of the en a ang porangles to each other.

The ang la cen ra p r o he plat a s wn in F g- 2, Pre rably covers the inn gee t c rn r post over th ful Wi of. h sid ame m mbers; th ugh i a e a i gs are pr fe ably provided only ad acent its upper portion. Adjacent the central portion of the angle section means for he tta'fe m ntef the n fen f the fle i le members of th ensiohi g de i e s p vided. This means may comprise a hook 12 firm y atta h d t the edg th pla e, show in F g. r may hev forme of n egr portions of the angle'section. As is shown in Fig- 2, t e fasten g m ans for the tensionh s evice eempr stwo a er xt nsions 13' h ht r e tvardly at ea h si e. f heangle sec ion an Pr ssed t g the so h to 'p ie diagonal y ih er rve lots 4 ar but in one side edge of said inwardly projecting Ihe t lls eh hg devl e P TQfQrably e prise a ba pla e he hsits nds 2 rn d upwardly an prov d wit ape ture tieeei e th shanks. i. Se ena-bel 2- Said screwholts are each Provided; with hook-shaped head portions 24;. providing curved transverse grooves 25 within which the flexible members extending to the corner posts of an article of furnitureare adapted to frictionally engage. Each of the screw threaded shanks of said bolts is placed through one of the upturned ends of said body member so asto project in anoutward direction, and an adjusting nut 26 is engaged 'thereover in a position to abut against the end face of said upturned portion of the body.

A pair of flexible members, such as wire cables 27 having loops 28 formed at their free ends, are engaged at their end portions with'the hooks 12 of the corner plates and have their intermediate portions engaged with the respective transverse grooves of the r hook-shaped head portions of the tensioning in rigid relation.

device. It will be noted, as is shown in Fig. 3, that the flexible elements cross each other at a-central point beneath the articles of furniture and that the cables are crossed in opposite directions above one another on opposite sides of said'tensioning device. This arrangement results in holding the tensioning device rigidly beneath the article of furniture so that the desired degree of tension may be placed upon the flexible members.

When the tensioning device is operated,

the ,corner posts will, be drawn inwardly against the side members and hold the same Owing to the different directions in which the screws are placed, a high degree of tension may be applied without danger of separating the plates from their adjacent frame members.

It will be noted that the form of device shown in Fig. 2 may be stamped from sheet metal of the proper thickness and maybe cheaply manufactured and easily applied. The usual corner blocks are dispensed with and in'place thereof fastening elements are supplied which make it possible to compensate forany lost motion between the parts of an article which may develop through the drying out-of the wood or through severe or long continued use. p g I r Where a lesser degree of adjustment is adequate for the tensioning device, the same may be formed, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing, wherein the base plate 31 is provided with one upturned end 32 similar to the device shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and at the op- .posite end is provided with a stationary outwardly-turned hook-shaped head 33, having a curved transverse groove within which one of the flexible "members extending to the corner posts of the articleof furniture is adapted to frictionally engage. A screw-bolt, identical with [those described in connection with Figs. 3 and 4;, is adapted to engage through an aperture in the upturned end 32 of the modified form of base plate. The adjustment for the entire device is, of course, made only from one end.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means 1 be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my 1nvent1on:

1. A tensioning device for furmture braces having a. pair of flexible members, the central portions of which extend past each other, comprising a plate provided with an angular extensigm at each end thereof, a pair of members cooperating with said respective angular extensions at each end'and each movable toward or away from the opposite member, said members being adapted to engage said flexible members respectively. L

2. tensioning device for furniture braces having a pair of flexible members, the central portions of which extend past each other, comprising a plate provided with an angular extension at each end thereof, a pair of hookshaped members cooperating with said respective angular extensions at each end and each movable toward or away from the op.-

positemember, said hook-shaped members 3 being adapted to engage said flexible members respectively.

respectively. p A,

4. A tensioning device for furniture braces having a pairof flexible members, the central portions of which extend. past each other,

, tional engagement with said flexiblemembers I comprising a plate-provided with an angular extension at each end thereof, a pair of members having Y-shaped heads and screwthreaded shanks cooperating with said re:- spective angular extensions and the inner face of said plate whereby said tensioning device may be interposed between interlooped flexible members, and means for moving the heads of saidscrew-threaded members away from each other and placing tension upon the cables engaged by said heads.

5. A tensioning device having a pair of flexible members, the central portions of which extend past each other, comprising a plate provided with an angular extension at each end thereof, and a pair of'hookshaped members each provided with elongated grooved friction heads adapted to whereby'said device may be interposed between the interlooped flexible members to! apply a predetermined degree of tension 10 thereto. a r Signed by me, this 6 day of August, 1925/ THEODORE H. WITTLIFF. 

